Barcelona president Laporta fully backs Deco for his extraordinary contributions

On Tuesday, he credited Deco, the director of football, for making this possible, saying: "If there is one person who has worked tirelessly for this, it's Deco."

"He and his team have done an extraordinary job renewing the contracts of players from La Masia and who were already integrated into the first team dynamic.

"These are very young players who have blossomed and needed to have their contracts restructured. Deco has done an outstanding job this summer, and has also been crucial for registering the players we needed, what with the departures, loans, and reduction of the sports payroll.

"Now we have a squad with a better market value than in 2021, younger and with more future potential. We have looked to La Masia and only gone to the market when necessary. This makes us more sustainable."